:::: Snore :::: About Snore ::::

When we are asleep, the body normally breathes the air through the trachea down to the lungs. The air travels slowly through the throat section of the respiratory tract where the soft palate, uvular, tonsils, and tongue are located. As we sleep, the area will relax but will still leave enough space for sufficient air to flow in and out of the lungs in the process of blood oxygenation.

Normal respiratory system.
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Throat section.
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Our respiration occurs semi-voluntarily without us needing to focus on inhaling and exhaling. The respiratory monitoring center, located in the brainstem, controls our respiration rate to be at approximately 20 times per minute.

As we are asleep, the neck muscles slacken, narrowing the throat cavity, causing us to breathe more and more heavily. Once the breathing pathway tighten to a certain degree, the force of the breath will increase to the point of beating the inner throat cavity. This causes a vibration and the snoring sound. If the throat cavity contracts further, a temporary blockage in the trachea might occur which results in breathless episodes called sleep apnea which can induce the onset of other diseases and could even result in sudden death.

Normal airway.
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Snoring.
Copyrights SuperKid 2009

In some cases where the throat cavity becomes very narrow, the breathing pathway is obstructed periodically. Then, the lungs cannot infuse blood with oxygen as efficiently. The brain will be alerted of such a condition and rouses the body more frequently, disabling one to go into deep sleep until the throat cavity muscles becomes tense and open large enough for ventilation once more. This process will stimulate the body and put it to sleep again. The steps above are repeated all night long. Therefore, snoring is a factor of sleep deprivation.